The NYPD is investigating three people seen climbing out of a manhole near Penn Station last Tuesday at 4 a.m. Police say the group came out of the sewer on Seventh Avenue by 32nd Street, wearing overalls and headlamps. No arrests have been made in the most recent incident.
Police are looking for three people in the August 18 incident. Matt McCann, a construction worker in the area, said he has seen the underground trespassers before. “I don't know what the hell they're doing down there because they get the waders on. You know, they got their coal miners caps going on,” he said.
Matt McCann near Penn Station
The repeated sightings near Penn Station follow earlier incidents this summer in Brooklyn and Queens, along with four arrests in previous incidents in Williamsburg and Gravesend in May. Those who were charged in the May incidents told police they were scavenging for valuables. There was at least one incident in Queens that resulted in an arrest, but charges were ultimately not pursued.
Detectives believe many of the underground scavengers caught on camera are migrants searching for anything of value in the sewer system. Detectives said they learned of a scavenger culture in places like Venezuela beginning in 2022.
New York City sewer system
New York City's sewer system is made up of 7,400 miles of wastewater and stormwater pipes constructed in the 1800s. After recent incidents, inspections found no threat to the infrastructure.
A DEP spokesperson said: “DEP works closely with our public safety partners to help ensure the safety and security of critical infrastructure throughout New York City. Entering the sewer system is both illegal and extremely dangerous. Sewers can contain numerous hazards, including noxious and potentially deadly gases, unstable surfaces, flooding risks, and confined spaces. For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall,”
